ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – The latest food truck to serve gourmet dishes in Albuquerque is actually a classroom on wheels.

CNM’s Culinary Arts Program has partnered up with the Street Food Institute from Santa Fe for a pilot program that plunges students into the street food movement.

“You drive around town and you see more and more food trucks here in Albuquerque, and so we started thinking, ‘Do our students want to do this?'” Scott Clapp, an instructor with CNM’s Culinary Arts Program, told KRQE News 13.

The emphasis is on offering healthy food at a reasonable price, using as many locally-grown ingredients as possible.

“We’re using real, wholesome ingredients, making everything from scratch,” David Sellers with the Street Food Institute said. “It’s not much more expensive than a local fast food place, and food quality is way better.”

The program, which culminates in students working about 140 hours in a food truck, also teaches small business skills.

“They learn the whole thing,” Clapp said. “From doing the prep, to the marketing, to doing the sales. They learn that some days aren’t as good as other days, so a lot of valuable lessons.”

CNM plans to expand the program in the coming year with two more food trucks.

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